Investing in Innovation “i3” grant will expand Child-Parent Centers in the Midwest

December 22, 2011

A partnership of 11 education and nonprofit agencies in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have been awarded an Investing in Innovation or “i3” grant of $15 million over five years from the U.S. Department of Education to scale up an integrated school-based early childhood intervention. With a management team at the University of Minnesota directed by Arthur Reynolds (Human Capital Research Co-Director) and the partners, the project will implement the Child-Parent Center Education Program (CPC), a renowned prekindergarten to third-grade intervention (Pk-3) that provides intensive and continuous educational and family-support services primarily for children in low-income neighborhoods.

The project was announced during a visit to the Twin Cities on December 19 by James Shelton, U. S. Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education for Innovation and Improvement and director of the U. S. Department of Education’s i3 program at a project forum at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

The project will expand the CPC program in six school districts and 33 sites across the three-state area, including the Chicago Public Schools, Saint Paul Public Schools, Milwaukee Public Schools, Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Normal School District 5 in Illinois, and the Virginia Public Schools as well as Arrowhead Head Start in rural Minnesota. An estimated 9,000 children ages 3 to 9 will be served, 2,350 children beginning in preschool and 6,500 through services in kindergarten to grade 3.

The Child-Parent Centers, started in Chicago Public Schools in 1967, is one of the most comprehensive early childhood interventions. It is the second oldest federally funded preschool (after Head Start) and first program to integrate services from preschool through third grade. Chicago was also the first district to use federal Title I funds for preschool. Children attend small classes throughout the intervention and many family services from parenting classes to career training are provided.

Many studies have shown it to enhance educational success and well-being from kindergarten entry to adulthood. Cost-benefit analyses indicate a return of $8 to $11 per dollar invested in the program, which is among the highest return of any social program. The project will expand the model for the first time into other school districts in the Midwest.

The program provides an integrated system of instructional and family support, assessment, professional development, shared leadership, and evaluation, according to project director Reynolds, a principal investigator on the grant and a professor in the University’s Institute of Child Development.. As part of the project, the Erikson Institute in Chicago will develop a comprehensive professional development system. Illinois State University will work the project team to disseminate knowledge about the program and to promote expansion and sustainability. SRI International will conduct an independent evaluation of the implementation and impact.

The program will be implemented beginning in fall 2012 when preschool children are enrolled and their participation will continue through their third grade year in spring 2017. St. Paul Public Schools will initially serve over 300 4-year-olds in 6 schools and also has committed Title I funds for the program. “Dr. Reynolds’s research has been a driver in our efforts to improve children’s school readiness and achievement for years,” said Saint Paul Schools Superintendent Valeria Silva. “We’re honored to now be partnering directly with Arthur, the university, and the project partners.”

In the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), where the program has continued for over four decades, 15 sites will serve nearly 1,500 preschool children. “CPS is proud to partner with the U of M to expand and evaluate its long-running CPC program,” said CEO Jean-Claude Brizard.

Expansion to neighboring Evanston will serve over 100 children in four schools with plans to increase enrollment. “This grant is an opportunity for us to enhance the kind of programs and services that we believe will give youngsters the best possible chance for success,” said Evanston/Skokie School District Superintendent Dr. Hardy Murphy. “The energy and commitment from so many community partners is truly remarkable.”

“The duration and intensity of this innovative program will help enhance excellence in school achievement and reduce the large achievement gaps that exist by family socioeconomic status,” said Reynolds. “The key purpose of the i3 program is to scale up and sustain evidence-based programs and practices, and this is our plan.”

Strong evidence of impact
CPC is an exemplary model of pre-K through 3 education with strong evidence of large and sustained effects on school achievement and social competence, according to Reynolds. He directs the Chicago Longitudinal Study, which provides the research foundation for the program expansion.

With the grant, the CPC program will strengthen student achievement of preschool and elementary school-aged children from low-income families in partnership with seven local education and nonprofit agencies in the tri-state area. It provides comprehensive education and family support services for at-risk children. The goal is to promote school readiness, parent involvement, and early school achievement that enhance longer-term effects on achievement, graduation, and career success.

The grant is one of 23 selected nationwide from more than 600 applications. It includes developing plans to sustain the program in participating school districts and expanding to more sites in Minnesota, the Midwest, and beyond, as well as an independent evaluation of the program.

Project Investigators
Principal investigator and project director is Arthur Reynolds, a professor in the Institute of Child Development, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. Project co-principal investigators are Arthur Rolnick and Judy Temple, senior fellow and associate professor, respectively, at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, and Barbara Bowman, Irving B. Harris professor of child development at Erickson Institute and chief early education officer in the Chicago Public Schools. Rolnick is a former vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. The project manager is Mallory Warner-Richter, a research fellow at the University of Minnesota.

Other investigators include professional development coordinator Christine Maxwell (Erikson Institute) and dissemination and outreach coordinators Erika Hunt and Lisa Hood (Illinois State University). The evaluators at SRI International are Donna Spiker, Erika Gaylor, and Shari Golan. The advisory committee includes Sam J. Meisels (Erikson Institute), Lindsay Chase-Lansdale (Northwestern University), and Laura Kohn.

Matching support
Strong support from national and local community foundations surpassed the required private-sector match. Combined federal, private, and district funding for the project totals more than $20 million. Private foundations and corporations contributed $2.7 million. Major donors include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Evanston Community Foundation, Finnegan Family Foundation, Foundation for Child Development, Foundation65, Greater Twin Cities United Way, J. B. and M. K. Pritzker Family Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Northwestern University, Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Saint Paul Foundation, Target Corporation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Francis Beidler Foundation, Elizabeth Biedler Tisdahl Foundation, and Celebrate Children Foundation. Fund-raising to sustain and expand the model will continue over the course of the project.

About the Human Capital Research Collaborative
The project was developed by the Human Capital Research Collaborative and its partners. HCRC is a partnership between the University of Minnesota and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis to promote effective public policies and programs for young people through multidisciplinary research on human development and learning. Reynolds and Rolnick direct the center.

More information
Human Capital Research Collaborative
Chicago Longitudinal Study
U. S. Department of Education announcement

Contacts
Project manager: Mallory Warner-Richter, 612-624-2862, mwr@umn.edu
Project director and HCRC co-director: Arthur Reynolds, ajr@umn.edu, 651-230-7957
Project and HCRC co-director: Art Rolnick, arolnick@umn.edu, 612-625-3003
Administrative coordinator: Ellen Lepinski, 612-625-9651, lepin008@umn.edu
Media relations: Gayla Marty, College of Education and Human Development, 612-626-5650, marty001@umn.edu, and Kristin Anderson, University News Service, 612-624-1690, kma@umn.edu